Jays' Wells to play in WBC
02/14/2006Vernon Wells will be taking a break from Spring Training in Florida with the Blue Jays and heading cross-country to Arizona in March as a member of Team USA for the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
On Tuesday, USA Baseball and Major League Baseball revealed the 30 players who are expected to take part in the first round of the WBC. Wells was one of the six outfielders selected for the Team USA roster, which doesn't have to be officially submitted until March 2. The Americans' first game will be on March 7 against Mexico at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"It's an honor," Wells said about being selected. "It's a chance to represent your country. I think it'll be great for [the players] as far as getting our minds focused on games that actually mean something. I think that's something you lack in Spring Training. It's a chance to get your timing down with your adrenaline flowing like it's the regular season."
Wells joins center fielder Johnny Damon of the Yankees, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. of the Reds, center fielder Randy Winn of the Giants, right fielder Jeff Francoeur of the Braves and left fielder Matt Holliday of the Rockies. With the surplus of center fielders, a couple of the players could be shifting to different spots.
"When you look at the Gold Glovers out there, you look at guys that can play, including Vernon Wells," USA manager Buck Martinez said on a conference call. "And certainly Jeff Francoeur is a guy that has played himself into prominence in a very short period of time.
"There's a lot of talent in that outfield. I have talked to Johnny Damon about possibly playing left field as well, and he is very comfortable with that, too."
Wells earned his second consecutive American League Gold Glove Award last year, becoming the first Toronto outfielder to win the honor in back-to-back seasons since Devon White won five straight from 1991-95. Wells tied for second in the AL with 12 assists and committed no errors last season. He has just one error in his past 696 total chances.
Toronto was also led offensively by Wells, who finished the year with team highs in home runs (28) and RBIs (97). He has topped 20 homers in each of the past four seasons, with his best showing coming in 2003, when he hit .317 with 33 homers and 117 RBIs.
If Damon plays in left field and Martinez starts Griffey in center, that might push Wells to right field. Wells has played more than 600 games in center and just 16 games in right in his career -- none since 2002.
"I'm sure I'll be mixing in a couple different positions," said Wells. "It'll be a change [if I have to play right], but it's just a matter of taking some fly balls off the bat during batting practice and getting used to it. From there, hopefully, it'll be like riding a bike."
Griffey has 10 Gold Glove Awards to his credit, but he has struggled with injuries the past few years. He suffered a strained right foot last season and had surgeries on his both left knee and right hamstring in September. He still had a .301 average and hit 35 homers and 92 RBIs for Cincinnati.
The Americans open camp at Chase Field on March 3, train for two days and then play an exhibition game against San Francisco on March 5 at Scottsdale Stadium.
After the first round, the WBC rosters can be changed before the start of each round only if a player suffers an injury. The 22 players left on the Team USA provisional roster turned in on Jan. 17 are eligible to fill in at that point.
Source: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/
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